Flexible display device and method of manufacturing the same

ABSTRACT

A flexible display device includes a display panel configured to display images, a first substrate having a plurality of pixels disposed therein, and a second substrate coupled to the first substrate. The first substrate includes a display area, a bent part extending from the display area, and a pad part extending from the bent part. The flexible display device further includes a panel driver coupled to the pad part of the first substrate and configured to supply signals to the plurality of pixels on the display panel for displaying images. The first substrate further includes a first surface and a second surface, and the second substrate includes a third surface and a fourth surface. The first surface of the first substrate faces the fourth surface of the second substrate. The first substrate is curved at the bent part of the first substrate such that the pad part of the first substrate and the panel driver are disposed below the display area.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation Application of co-pending U.S.application Ser. No. 14/135,362 filed on Dec. 19, 2013, which claims thebenefit of the Korean Patent Application No. 10-2013-0039488 filed onApr. 10, 2013, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference as iffully set forth herein.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a display device, and moreparticularly, to a flexible display device with a reduced bezel widthand a method of manufacturing the same.

2. Discussion of the Related Art

Generally, in flexible display devices, a plurality of pixels are formedon a thin and flexible substrate such as plastic, and thus, even whenthe flexible display devices are folded or rolled up as in paper, theflexible display devices can display a desired image. Therefore, theflexible display devices are attracting much attention as thenext-generation display devices, and research and development thereofare being done. Examples of such flexible display devices includeflexible liquid crystal display devices, flexible plasma displaydevices, flexible organic light emitting display devices, flexibleelectrophoretic display devices, flexible electro-wetting displaydevices, etc.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a generalflexible display device.

Referring to FIG. 1, the general flexible display device includes adisplay panel 10 and a panel driver 20. The display panel 10 includes alower substrate 12 and an upper substrate 14 which face each other andare coupled to each other.

The lower substrate 12 is formed as a thin and flexible substrate with amaterial such as plastic. The lower substrate 12 includes a display areathat includes a plurality of pixels for displaying an image, aperipheral area that surrounds the display area, and a pad part that isprovided in a peripheral area of one side of the lower substrate 12.

For example, a plurality of gate lines and a plurality of data linesthat define a plurality of pixel areas are formed to intersect eachother in the display area, a thin film transistor (TFT) is formed ineach area defined by the intersection of a corresponding gate line anddata line, and a pixel electrode connected to the corresponding TFT isformed in each of the pixel areas. The pad part is provided in theperipheral area of the one side of the lower substrate 12 to beconnected to the gate lines and the data lines, and is connected to thepanel driver 20.

The upper substrate 14 is formed as a thin and transparent substratewith a material such as plastic, and is formed to have an arearelatively smaller than the area of the lower substrate 12. The uppersubstrate 14 faces and is coupled to a portion of the lower substrate12, except for the pad part of the lower substrate 12 by a couplingmember (not shown), which is formed in a closed-loop type, in anon-display area of the lower substrate 12.

An optical film (not shown) may be adhered to a top of the uppersubstrate 14, in which case the optical film may have an anti-reflectionfunction that prevents polarization and/or reflection of external light.

The panel driver 20 is connected to the pad part of the lower substrate12, and supplies signals to the gate lines and data lines. To this end,the panel driver 20 may include a flexible circuit board 21, a drivingintegrated circuit (IC) 23, a control board 25, and a driving circuitpart 27.

The flexible circuit board 21 is adhered to the pad part of the lowersubstrate 12, and bent to be positioned below a bottom area of the lowersubstrate 12 to surround a side surface of the lower substrate 12.

The driving IC 23 is mounted on the flexible circuit board 21. Thedriving IC 23 generates data signals and a pixel driving signal fordisplaying an image on the display panel 10 on the basis of image dataand a timing sync signal which are supplied from the control board 25,and supplies the data signals and the pixel driving signal to the padpart.

The control board 25 is adhered to the flexible circuit board 21, and isdisposed below the lower substrate 21. The control board 25 is connectedto another control board (not shown) that generates image data and thetiming sync signal which correspond to an image to be displayed by thedisplay panel 10, and transfers the image data and timing sync signal,which are supplied from the other control board, to the driving IC 23through the flexible circuit board 21.

The driving circuit board 27 is mounted on the control board 25, andincludes passive elements, such as a resistor, a capacitor, and aninductor, and/or an IC. The driving circuit board 27 generates a voltagenecessary to drive the display panel 10 and/or the driving IC 23.

The related art flexible display device drives the pixels of the displaypanel 10 according to a driving of the panel driver 20, therebydisplaying a desired image on the display panel 10.

However, in the related art flexible display device of FIG. 1, the paneldriver 20 (more specifically, the flexible circuit board 21) is bent tosurround a side surface of the lower substrate 12. Therefore, since aportion of the flexible circuit board 21 and a bending part 21 a of theflexible circuit board 21 are disposed outside the side surface of thedisplay panel 10, a bezel width W of the related art flexible displaydevice increases due to one side of the lower substrate 12, the portionof the flexible circuit board 21, and the bending part 21 a.

Moreover, the related art flexible display device has an increasednumber of elements therein due to the presence of the flexible circuitboard 21 and the control board 25, which also causes an increase in themanufacturing cost. Also, a yield rate of the related art flexibledisplay device can be reduced by a bonding defect which is caused by thebonding process of adhering the flexible circuit board 21 to the lowersubstrate 12 and the bonding process of adhering the control board 25 tothe flexible circuit board 21.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to providing a flexibledisplay device and a method of manufacturing the same that substantiallyobviate one or more problems due to limitations and disadvantages of therelated art.

An aspect of the present invention is directed to providing a flexibledisplay device with a reduced bezel width and a method of manufacturingthe same.

Additional advantages and features of the invention will be set forth inpart in the description which follows and in part will become apparentto those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of thefollowing or may be learned from practice of the invention. Theobjectives and other advantages of the invention may be realized andattained by the structure particularly pointed out in the writtendescription and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.

To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purposeof the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, there isprovided according to an embodiment a flexible display device including:a display panel configured to include a first substrate, which includesa plurality of pixels and in which a bending part is provided at oneside distal end of the first substrate, and a second substrate facingand coupled to the first substrate; a panel driver connected to a distalend of the bending part, and configured to supply signals to therespective pixels; and a supporting member configured to support thefirst substrate, and include a side surface which faces the bending partand is rounded to guide a bending of the bending part.

In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided accordingto an embodiment a method of manufacturing a flexible display device,including: manufacturing a display panel by coupling a first substrate,which includes a plurality of pixels and in which a bending part isprovided at one side distal end of the first substrate, to a secondsubstrate; manufacturing a supporting member that includes a sidesurface rounded by a hemming process; adhering the supporting member toa bottom of the display panel; bending the bending part along the sidesurface; and closely adhering a distal end of the bending part to abottom of the supporting member.

According to an embodiment, the present invention provides a flexibledisplay device including a display panel configured to display images,and including a flexible first substrate having a plurality of pixelsdisposed therein and a second substrate coupled to the flexible firstsubstrate, the flexible first substrate including a display area, a bentpart extending from the display area, and a pad part extending from thebent part; a panel driver connected to the pad part, and configured tosupply signals to the respective pixels; and a supporting memberconfigured to support the flexible first substrate, and including a bentpart for guiding the bent part of the first substrate.

According to an embodiment, the present invention provides a method ofmanufacturing a flexible display device, the method includingmanufacturing a display panel by coupling a flexible first substrate toa second substrate, the flexible first substrate including a displayarea having a plurality of pixels, a to-be-bent part extending from thedisplay area, and a pad part extending from the to-be-bent part;adhering a panel driver to the pad part, the panel driver configured tosupply signals to the respective pixels; manufacturing a supportingmember including a bent part formed by a hemming process; adhering thesupporting member to a bottom of the display panel; bending theto-be-bent part of the flexible first substrate along the bent part ofthe supporting member, so as to form a bent part of the flexible firstsubstrate; and adhering at least one of the pad part and the paneldriver to a bottom of the supporting member.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description of the present invention areexemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide furtherexplanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this application, illustrate embodiments of the invention andtogether with the description serve to explain the principle of theinvention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a generalflexible display device according to a related art;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a flexible display deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the flexible display deviceillustrating a view taken along a line I-I′ of FIG. 2 according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a supporting member applied tothe flexible display device according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which a bendingpart is not bent in the flexible display device according to anembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the flexible display device of FIG. 5, whichillustrates the state in which the bending part is not bent in theflexible display device according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be usedthroughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts. Further, anyone or more features and/or elements from one or more embodiments of thepresent invention described herein can be applied or combined to any oneor more embodiments of the present invention described herein. Further,one or more elements from one or more embodiments of the presentinvention can substitute one or more elements in another embodiment ofthe present invention.

Hereinafter, a flexible display device and a method of manufacturing thesame according to embodiments of the present invention will be describedin detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a flexible display deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is across-sectional view of the flexible display device according to anembodiment of the present invention, and is a cross-sectional viewillustrating a view taken along a line I-I′ of FIG. 2.

The flexible display device according to an embodiment of the presentinvention, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, includes: a display panel100 that includes a first substrate 110, which includes a plurality ofpixels and in which a bending part 115 is provided at one side distalend of the first substrate 110, and a second substrate 120 facing andcoupled to the first substrate 110; a panel driver 200 that is connectedto a distal end of the bending part 115 of the first substrate 110, andsupplies signals to the plurality of pixels; and a supporting member 400that supports the first substrate 110, and includes a side surface whichfaces the bending part 115 and is rounded to guide a bending in thebending part 115. The flexible display device of the present inventioncan include additional components, and all the components of theflexible display device of the present invention are operatively coupledand configured. Further the flexible display device of the presentinvention can be any type of a flexible display device such as aflexible liquid crystal display device, a flexible plasma displaydevice, a flexible organic light emitting display device, a flexibleelectrophoretic display device, a flexible electro-wetting displaydevice, etc.

First, the display panel 100 will now be described.

The display panel 100 may be a flexible flat panel display device. Inthe following description, it is assumed that the display panel 100 isan organic light emitting display panel applied to a flexible organiclight emitting display device that is a type of flexible flat paneldisplay device; however, the display panel 100 can be of a differenttype. The display panel 100 includes the first and second substrates 110and 120 which are facing each other and coupled to each other, a backplate 130 that is provided at a bottom of the first substrate 110, andan optical film 150 that is formed at a top of the second substrate 120.

First, the first substrate 110 is a flexible thin film substrate, andmay be formed of a plastic material or a metal foil. That is, the firstsubstrate 110 is formed of a flexible material, and thus, as illustratedin FIGS. 2 and 3, the first substrate 110 can be bent.

For example, the first substrate 110 formed of the plastic material maybe formed of one or more of polyimide (PI), polycarbonate (PC),polynorborneen (PNB), polyethyleneterephthalate (PET),polyethylenapthanate (PEN), and polyethersulfone (PES). The firstsubstrate 110 includes a display part, a non-display part, the bendingpart 115, and a pad part 116.

The display part of the first substrate 110 includes a plurality of gatelines, a plurality of data lines, a plurality of driving power lines,the plurality of pixels, and a cathode power line. The plurality of gatelines are arranged at certain intervals to intersect the plurality ofdata lines, and the plurality of driving power lines are arranged inparallel to the plurality of gate lines or the plurality of data lines.

The plurality of pixels are respectively formed in a plurality of pixelareas defined by the intersections between the plurality of gate linesand the plurality of data lines, and display an image according to agate signal from the gate lines and data signals from the respectivedata lines. To this end, each of the plurality of pixels includes apixel driving circuit connected to a corresponding gate line and dataline and an organic light emitting element connected to the pixeldriving circuit and the cathode power line.

Each pixel driving circuit includes a switching transistor connected toa corresponding gate line and data line, a driving transistor connectedto the switching transistor, and a capacitor connected to a gate andsource of the driving transistor.

Each pixel driving circuit supplies a data signal, supplied to thecorresponding data line through the switching transistor which is turnedon according to the gate signal supplied through the corresponding gateline, to the driving transistor to store a gate-source voltage of thedriving transistor corresponding to the data signal in the capacitor.

Each driving transistor is turned on with the voltage stored in thecapacitor, and supplies a data current corresponding to the data signalto the organic light emitting element. Here, each of the transistors maybe an a-Si thin film transistor (TFT), a poly-Si TFT, an oxide TFT, oran organic TFT.

Each pixel driving circuit may further include at least one compensationtransistor and at least one compensation capacitor that compensate for athreshold voltage of the driving transistor.

Each organic light emitting element includes a pixel electrode (or ananode electrode) connected to the driving transistor, an organicemitting layer formed on the pixel electrode, and a cathode electrodeformed on the organic emitting layer. Each organic light emittingelement emits light with a data current which flows from the pixelelectrode to the cathode electrode according to the driving transistorbeing turned on, and emits light of luminance, corresponding to the datacurrent, to on the second substrate 120.

The cathode power line may be provided at the entire surface of thedisplay part of the first substrate 110 to be electrically connected tothe cathode electrode of each pixel, or provided in the form of patternsto be electrically connected to the respective cathode electrodes of aplurality of pixels formed on a vertical line or horizontal line of thedisplay part. The cathode power line may be provided to be electricallyconnected to the organic emitting layer of each pixel, in which case thecathode electrode is not provided.

The non-display part of the first substrate 110 is provided as aperipheral area of the display part to surround the display part of thefirst substrate 110. Here, the non-display part may be defined as anarea overlapping an edge portion of the second substrate 120.

A plurality of link lines, electrically connected to the plurality ofgate lines, the plurality of data lines, the plurality of driving powerlines, and the cathode power line which are provided in the displaypart, are provided at one side of the non-display part of the firstsubstrate 110.

The bending part 115 of the first substrate 110 extends from the oneside of the non-display part of the first substrate 110 to have acertain area, and is bent in a bottom direction of the first substrate110. That is, the bending part 115 of the first substrate 110 can bebent by a substrate bending apparatus to have a certain curvature, andoverlaps a lower portion of one side of the second substrate 120. Aplurality of extension lines electrically connected to the respectivelink lines are provided at the bending part 115.

The pad part 116 of the first substrate 110 is electrically connected toa flexible circuit board 220 of the panel driver 200.

However, the pad part 116 may be electrically connected to the drivingintegrated circuit (IC) 210 of the panel driver 200. That is, in FIGS. 2and 3, the flexible circuit board 220 is electrically connected to thepad part 116, and the driving IC 210 is mounted on the flexible circuitboard 220. However, the present invention is not limited thereto.

For example, the driving IC 210 may be mounted directly on the pad part116 that is provided at the first substrate 110. In this case, the padpart 116 is directly and electrically connected to the driving IC 210instead of the flexible circuit board 220.

Second, the second substrate 120 of the display panel 100 is formed of atransparent plastic material, and formed to have an area relativelysmaller than the first substrate 110. The second substrate 120 is facingand coupled to the first substrate 100 including an inner portion of thebending part 115 of the first substrate 110 by a coupling member whichis formed in a closed-loop type at the non-display part of the firstsubstrate 110.

The coupling member couples the first substrate 110 and the secondsubstrate 120 with each other, and seals a space between the first andsecond substrates 110 and 120 for protecting the organic light emittingelements against external moisture, oxygen, dusts, etc. That is, thesecond substrate 120 may perform a function of an encapsulatingsubstrate (an encap) that seals the first substrate 110.

Third, the back plate 130 of the display panel 100 is provided at thebottom of the first substrate 110, prevents a foreign material frombeing adhered to the bottom of the first substrate 110, and preventslight, emitted from the display part 112 of the first substrate 110,from traveling in a lower direction of the first substrate 110.

The first substrate 110 undergoes a process of forming the pixel drivingcircuit in a state where the first substrate 110 is mounted on a mainsubstrate such as a glass substrate, coupled to the second substrate110, and separated from the main substrate. In this case, adhesivematerials which were adhered to the main substrate remain at the bottomof the first substrate 110, and due to the adhesive materials, a foreignmaterial can be adhered to the first substrate 110. To prevent orminimize such foreign materials, the back plate 130 is adhered to theouter bottom surface of the first substrate 110 separated from the mainsubstrate. The back plate 130 may be provided in a plate shape such asplastic, or in a film shape.

Fourth, the optical film 150 of the display panel 100 is formed to havean anti-reflection function that prevents polarization and/or reflectionof external light, and is adhered to an outer top surface of the secondsubstrate 120. As a variation, the optical film 150 may not be provided,or multiple optical films or variations thereof may be provided.

Next, the panel driver 200 of the flexible display device according toan embodiment of the present invention will now be described.

The panel driver 200 may be configured with the flexible circuit board220 and the driving IC 210.

First, the flexible circuit board 220 may use a chip-on film (COF) or aflexible printed circuit (FPC), and the driving IC 210 that supplies acontrol signal and a driving signal (hereinafter simply referred to as asignal) for emitting light from the pixels of the display panel 100 isprovided at the flexible circuit board 220.

One side of the flexible circuit board 220 is directly and electricallyconnected to the pad part 116 of the first substrate 110.

Second, the driving IC 210 can be mounted on the flexible circuit board220 by a chip bonding process, a surface mounting process, or othersuitable processes, and bonded to a plurality of signal supply terminalsand a plurality of signal input terminals.

The driving IC 210 generates data signals and gate signals on the basisof video data and a timing sync signal which are supplied from theoutside through the plurality of signal input terminals, and suppliesthe generated data signals and gate signals to the corresponding signalsupply terminals to drive the respective pixels formed in the displaypart of the first substrate 110, thereby displaying an imagecorresponding to the video data on the display part.

However, the panel driver 200 is not limited to the above-describedconfiguration. That is, the panel driver 200 may be configured invarious ways. For instance, the panel driver 200 according to the firstembodiment, as described above, may include the flexible circuit board220 and the driving IC 210.

The panel driver 200 according to a second embodiment may include onlythe driving IC 210 (but not the flexible circuit board 220). That is,the flexible circuit board 220 may be directly and/or electricallyconnected to the pad part 116, and thus, the driving IC 210 may beelectrically connected to the first substrate 110, or directly connectedto the pad part 116 that is provided at the first substrate 110. In thiscase, the panel driver 200 may be configured with only the driving IC210.

The panel driver 200 according to a third embodiment may include theflexible circuit board 220, the driving IC 210, and a plurality ofdriving elements that are disposed at the flexible circuit board 220 soas to supply image data and a timing sync signal, which are input froman external control board, to the driving IC 210.

The panel driver 200 according to a fourth embodiment may include theflexible circuit board 220, the driving IC 210 disposed at the flexiblecircuit board 220, a driving circuit board electrically connected to theflexible circuit board, and the plurality of driving elements disposedat the driving circuit board.

In addition to the above-described embodiments, the panel driver 200 maybe configured in other various ways.

Finally, the supporting member 400 of the flexible display deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present invention will now bedescribed.

First, the supporting member 400 is formed by a hemming process. Thatis, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the supporting member 400 is formedin order for a bent portion of the supporting member 400 to be roundedby a process of bending one end of a bendable synthetic resin or a metalmaterial such as stainless.

Second, the supporting member 400 includes: a first supporting part 410that is adhered to the bottom of the display panel 100 (e.g., to theouter surface of the back plate 130); a hemming part 440 that extendsfrom the first supporting part 410 to be rounded, and faces the bendingpart 115; and a second supporting part 420 that extends from the hemmingpart 440, and is closely adhered to a bottom of the first supportingpart 410.

In the supporting member 400, the hemming part 440 that faces thebending part 115 provided at the first substrate 110 is formed to berounded.

When the supporting member 400 is formed of a metal material, thesupporting member 400 may perform a heat dissipating function thatdissipates heat generated from the display panel 100.

Third, the driving IC hole 430 (FIG. 4) into which the driving IC 210configuring the panel driver 200 is inserted is formed at the supportingmember 400. In particular, the driving IC hole 430 may be formed at thefirst supporting part 410. For instance, in order to prevent the drivingIC 210 from being formed directly on the first supporting member 410when the panel driver 200 is closely adhered to the bottom area of thesupporting member 400, the driving IC hole 430 into which the driving IC210 is inserted is formed at the first supporting part 410.

However, as a variation, the driving IC hole 430 may be formed only atthe second supporting part 420. For instance, the length (L in FIG. 4)of the second supporting part 420 can be greater than that of the firstsupporting part 410, such that the driving IC hole 430 is formed only atthe second supporting part 420, and the driving IC 210 is inserted intothe driving IC hole 430 of the second supporting part 420 (but notthrough the first supporting part 410).

In another variation, the driving IC hole 430 may be formed at both thefirst and second supporting parts 410 and 420. For instance, the secondsupporting part 420 can be formed to have the length L equal to (orsubstantially equal to) the first supporting part 410, and thus, whenthe driving IC 210 is closely adhered to the first and second supportingparts 410 and 420, the driving IC hole 430 may be formed at the firstand second supporting parts 410 and 420.

Fourth, in FIGS. 2 and 3, the length (L direction in FIG. 4) of thesecond supporting part 420, namely, a length from the hemming part 440to a distal end of the second supporting part 420 facing the hemmingpart 440, is less than that of the first supporting part 410, but thepresent invention is not limited thereto. Therefore, the length of thesecond supporting part 420 may be equal to or greater than that of thefirst supporting part 410 as discussed above.

The width (W in FIG. 4) of the supporting member 400 is substantiallyuniform. However, if desired, at least one of the first and secondsupporting parts 410 and 420 and the bending part 115 can have a varyingwidth or shape.

In FIGS. 2 and 3, the first supporting part 410 is illustrated assupporting only a portion of the bottom of the display panel 100, butthe present invention is not limited thereto. For instance, the firstsupporting part 410 may be formed to have a size capable of supportingthe entire bottom of the display panel 100.

In addition to the driving IC hole 430, at least one or more drivingelement holes (not shown) into which various driving elements includedin the panel driver 200 can be positioned, may be formed at the firstsupporting part 410 and/or the second supporting part 420.

Since a height of each of the driving IC 210 and/or the driving elementsis greater than a height of the space between the flexible circuit board220 and the supporting member 400, the driving IC hole 430 and/or thedriving element holes prevent the driving IC 210 and/or the drivingelements from being formed directly on the supporting member 400.

Fifth, the panel driver 200 may be adhered and fixed to the bottom ofthe supporting member 400 by an adhesive member/material.

For example, when the panel driver 200 is configured with the flexiblecircuit board 220 (which is connected to the pad part 116 extending fromthe bending part 115) and the driving IC 210 mounted on the flexiblecircuit board 220, the flexible circuit boar 220 and the pad part 116provided at the first substrate 110 may be adhered to the bottom of thesupporting member 400 by the adhesive member.

In this case, the adhesive member can include a first adhesive member300, which is adhered to the pad part 116 and disposed between the padpart 116 and the supporting member 400, and a second adhesive member 500that is adhered to the flexible circuit board 220 in a state where thesecond adhesive member 500 is adhered to the bottom of the supportingmember 400.

Each of the first and second adhesive members 300 and 500 may be formedof plastic having a plate shape, or formed of one or more variousmaterials having a cushion. The various materials having a cushion, forexample, may include latex, sponge, urethane foam that is a foam resin,EVA, silicon, and tape having a cushion.

The first adhesive member 300 and/or second adhesive member 500 formedof a material having a cushion absorbs an impact applied to the pad part116, the flexible circuit board 220, and/or the diving IC 210.

When the bending part 115 provided at the first substrate 110 is guidedby the hemming part 440 provided at the supporting member 400 and isbent, the first adhesive member 300 is adhered to the pad part 116 so asto closely adhere the pad part 116 to the bottom of the secondsupporting part 410 near the hemming part 440 of the supporting member400.

In this case, the first adhesive member 300 may also be adhered to thebottom of the supporting member 400. However, when the first adhesivemember 300 is bent less than the second adhesive member 500 because thefirst adhesive member 300 is formed of a stiffer material than thesecond adhesive member 500, for example, when the first adhesive member300 is formed of plastic having a plate shape, the first adhesive member300 may be adhered to only the pad part 116. That is, since the pad part116 maintains a plane due to the first adhesive member 300 having aplate shape, only the flexible circuit board 220 may be adhered to thebottom of the supporting member 400 without the first adhesive member300 being adhered to the bottom of the supporting member 400.

The first adhesive member 300 can prevent the pad part 116 of the firstsubstrate 110 from being damaged by the bottom portion of the supportingmember 400. That is, since the first substrate 110 is formed of a thinfilm, the first substrate 110 can be damaged even by a fine protrusionportion which is formed at the bottom of the supporting member 400.Therefore, the first adhesive member 300 is inserted between the outerbottom surface of the supporting member 400 and the inner surface of thepad part 116 of the first substrate 110, thus preventing or minimizingthis damage.

As another example, if the driving IC 210 is directly disposed on thepad part 116 of the first substrate 110, the pad part 116 may be adheredto the bottom of the supporting member 400 by only one of the first andsecond adhesive members 300 and 500. In this case, the driving IC 210configuring the panel driver 200 may be closely adhered and fixed to thebottom of the supporting member 400 according to the pad part 116 beingadhered to the supporting member 400 by the adhesive member.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a supporting member applied toa flexible display device according to an embodiment of the presentinvention, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state inwhich a bending part of the first substrate of the display panel is notbent in the flexible display device according to an embodiment of thepresent invention, and FIG. 6 is a bottom view illustrating the state inwhich the bending part is not bent in the flexible display deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present invention. More specifically,FIG. 4 illustrates an example of the supporting member 400 of FIGS. 2and 3, FIG. 5 illustrates the cross-sectional view shown in FIG. 3 in astate where the bending part 115 is not bent, and FIG. 6 is a bottomview of the flexible display device shown in FIG. 5.

A method of manufacturing the flexible display device according to anembodiment of the present invention will now be described referring toFIGS. 5 and 6. The flexible display device here preferably is theflexible display device of FIGS. 2-4; however, the method of the presentinvention can be equally applied to manufacture other flexible displaydevices according to the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, first, the display panel 100 is manufactureby coupling the first substrate 110, which includes the plurality ofpixels and in which the bending part 115 is provided at one side distalend of the first substrate 110, to the second substrate 120. Here, thefirst substrate 110 extends beyond the end of the second substrate 120.

The panel driver 200 is mounted on the pad part 116 extending from thebending part 115 of the first substrate 110. When the panel driver 200is configured with the flexible circuit board 220 and the driving IC210, the flexible circuit board 220 is connected to the pad part 116,and the driving IC 210 is disposed at the flexible circuit board 220.

However, as described above, in a variation, the driving IC 210 may bedirectly disposed at the pad part 116.

Then, the first adhesive member 300 is adhered to a portion of the padpart 116 in which the flexible circuit board 220 or the driving IC 210is not disposed. As described above, when the first adhesive member 300is formed of a plastic material to have a plate shape, the firstadhesive member 300 may be adhered to only the pad part 116. In thiscase, since the first adhesive member 300 may have only one side thathas adhesive properties, even when the pad part 116 is later moved(after the hemming part 440 is formed as described below) and positionedbelow the bottom of the supporting member 400, the first adhesive member300 may not adhere to the outer bottom surface of the supporting member400.

However, as variation, if the first adhesive member 300 has two oppositesides that have adhesive properties, then in a state where one side ofthe first adhesive member 300 is adhered to the pad part 116, when thepad part 116 is later moved (after the hemming part 440 is formed asdescribed below) and positioned below the bottom surface of thesupporting member 400, the other side of the first adhesive member 300may be adhered to the bottom surface of the supporting member 400.

As a variation, one side of the first adhesive member 300 can be firstdisposed or attached to the outer bottom surface of the supportingmember 400 having the hemming part 440 as shown in FIG. 5. When the padpart 116 shown in FIG. 5 is later moved (after the hemming part 440 isformed as described below) and positioned below the bottom surface ofthe supporting member 400, then the other side of the first adhesivemember 300 may be adhered to the inner surface of the pad part 116.

The formation of the supporting member 400 having a side surface (thehemming part 440) rounded by the hemming process will now be described.The hemming process denotes a process of rounding a bent portion.

The supporting member 400, as illustrated in FIG. 4, includes the firstsupporting part 410, the second supporting part 420, and the hemmingpart 440 formed due to the hemming process. The driving IC hole 430 maybe formed before the hemming process, or may be formed after the hemmingprocess.

The driving IC hole 430 may be formed at the supporting member 400 by apunching process.

Subsequently, as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, the supporting member 400having the hemming part 440 (bent portion) is adhered to the bottom ofthe display panel 100. For instance, the supporting member 400 may beadhered to the outer surface of the back plate 130 of the display panel100.out

In this case, as described above, the first adhesive member 300 may beadhered to the pad part 116, the flexible circuit board 220 with thedriving IC 210 disposed therein may be adhered to the pad part 116, andthe second adhesive member 500 may be adhered to the outer bottomsurface of the second supporting part 420 of the supporting member 400.

In a variation, instead of attaching the second adhesive member 500 tothe supporting member 400 as shown in FIG. 5, the second adhesive member500 may be first adhered to the flexible circuit board 220, so that whenthe bending part 115 of FIG. 5 is bent, the second adhesive member 500then can adhere to the outer bottom surface of the second supportingpart 420 of the supporting member 400.

In one example, the supporting member 400 having the hemming part 440may be fixed to the back plate 130 before, after, or at the same timeas, the first adhesive member 300 and/or the panel driver 200 isconnected to the pad part 116.

Subsequently, the un-bent bending part 115 is bent along the hemmingpart 440 provided at the side surface of the supporting member 400.

The hemming part 440 is formed to be rounded, and thus, when the bendingpart 115 is bent, the bending part 115 is formed to be rounded. As aresult, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the rounded portion of thebending part 115 is closely positioned adjacent to the hemming part 440of the supporting member 400, and the pad part 116 is closely adhered tothe bottom of the supporting member 400.

In these examples firs, the pad part 116 extending from the bending part115 may be adhered to the bottom of the supporting member 400 by thefirst adhesive member 300, or may be disposed to be closely positionedadjacent to the bottom of the supporting member 400 without the presenceof the first adhesive member 300.

Moreover, when the first adhesive member 300 is adhered to the pad part116 extending from the bending part 115, the flexible circuit board 220connected to the pad part 116 is adhered to the bottom of the supportingmember 400 by using the second adhesive member 500, and thus, the distalend of the bending part 115 is closely adhered to the bottom of thesupporting member 400.

According to the embodiments of the present invention, the bending partof the first substrate configuring the display panel is directly benttowards a bottom direction of the display panel, and the pad partextending from the bending part is disposed at the bottom of the displaypanel, thus decreasing the bezel width of the display panel.

Moreover, according to the embodiments of the present invention, due tothe rounded side surface of the supporting member disposed at the bottomof the display panel, the bending part of the first substrate isnaturally folded with the bending part having a curved surface, andthus, the plurality of circuits provided at the bending part can beprevented from being damaged. As a result, the supporting member havingthe hemming part (rounded part) protects and secures the circuitsconnected to the bending part of the first substrate as the bending partis curved along the contours of the hemming part, which in turndecreases the bezel width of the entire display panel.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made in the present inventionwithout departing from the spirit or scope of the inventions. Thus, itis intended that the present invention covers the modifications andvariations of this invention provided they come within the scope of theappended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A flexible display device comprising: a displaypanel configured to display images, and including a first substratehaving a plurality of pixels disposed therein and a second substratecoupled to the first substrate, the first substrate having a displayarea, a bent part extending from the display area, and a pad partextending from the bent part; and a panel driver coupled to the pad partof the first substrate, and configured to supply signals to theplurality of pixels on the display panel for displaying images, whereinthe first substrate includes a first surface and a second surface, andthe second substrate includes a third surface and a fourth surface,wherein the first surface of the first substrate faces the fourthsurface of the second substrate, and wherein the first substrate iscurved at the bent part of the first substrate such that the pad part ofthe first substrate and the panel driver are disposed below the displayarea.
 2. The flexible display device of claim 1, wherein the paneldriver faces the second surface of the first substrate in the displayarea.
 3. The flexible display device of claim 1, wherein the paneldriver includes: a circuit board connected to the pad part of the firstsubstrate; and a driving IC mounted on the circuit board.
 4. Theflexible display device of claim 3, wherein at least one of the pad partof the first substrate and the circuit board of the panel driver isadhered to a supporting member by at least one adhesive member, thesupporting member being disposed on the second surface of the firstsubstrate to support the display area of the first substrate.
 5. Theflexible display device of claim 4, wherein the supporting memberincludes a bent part for guiding the bent part of the first substrate.6. The flexible display device of claim 4, wherein the at least oneadhesive member includes: a first adhesive member adhered to at leastone of the pad part and the supporting member; and a second adhesivemember adhered to at least one of the supporting member and the circuitboard.
 7. The flexible display device of claim 6, wherein the firstadhesive member includes a material that is less flexible than amaterial of the second adhesive member.
 8. The flexible display deviceof claim 4, wherein the supporting member includes: a first supportingpart adhered to the display area of the first substrate; a bent partextending from the first supporting part and being curved to face thebent part of the first substrate; and a second supporting part extendingfrom the bent part of the supporting member, and facing a bottom of thefirst supporting part.
 9. The flexible display device of claim 8,wherein an entire one side of the second supporting part contacts oneside of the first supporting part.
 10. The flexible display device ofclaim 8, wherein at least one of the first and second supporting partsincludes a driving IC hole into which a driving IC of the panel driveris inserted.
 11. The flexible display device of claim 4, wherein thesupporting member includes a driving IC hole into which a driving ICconfiguring the panel driver is inserted.
 12. The flexible displaydevice of claim 5, wherein the first substrate wraps the bent part ofthe supporting member.
 13. The flexible display device of claim 1,wherein the panel driver includes a driving IC which is coupled to thepad part.